Sonae’s profits boost, up by 50%

Sonae's profits reached the €200m bar during the first three quarters of 2018. About having cancelled its PO in October, the company reaffirmed that the extremely dire market conditions caused it.

Sonae hit €200m in profits during the first nine months of the year, which accounts for a 50% year-on-year growth, the company told the Portuguese Securities and Exchange Commission (CMVM), in a statement.

The reason behind this boost in the company’s profits is, apart from sales and turnover, the acquisition of 20% of Sonae Sierra for €255.9m. This acquisition has had an indirect profit return of €114m, associated with a capital gain of €46m.

While EBITDA went up to €270m, during the first three quarters of the year, representing a 1.7% year-on-year increase, the business volume of Sonae went up by 7% getting to €4,236bn.

Starting in April Sonae will be headed by Cláudia Azevedo, who will come to fill Paulo Azevedo and Ângelo Paupério’s spots in the Portuguese retail company. For them, this improvement in the company’s performance is connected with all of the group’s business endeavours, but mainly with Sonae MC, who is responsible for the Continente supermarkets brand.

The company’s co-CEO, Ângelo Paupério, says on the statement sent to CMVM that “Sonae MC deserves the maximum recognition in the third quarter, given its strong growth in business volume and settling of the rentability at reference levels”.